Systems and Methods for Producing a Crude Product

ABSTRACT

A process for hydroprocessing heavy oil feedstock is disclosed. The process operates in once-through mode, employing a plurality of contacting zones and separation zones in sequential mode, parallel mode, or combinations thereof to convert at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products. The contacting zones operate under hydrocracking conditions, employing a slurry catalyst for upgrading the heavy oil feedstock. In one embodiment, the effluent stream from the contacting zone is sent to a separation zone in series operating at a pressure drop of at most 100 psi from the contacting zone. In another embodiment, the effluent from a contacting zone to the next contacting zone in series for further upgrade, with the next contacting zone having a pressure drop of at most 100 psi, with the pressure drop is not due to a pressure reducing device as in the prior art.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

NONE.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to systems and methods for treating or upgradingheavy oil feeds, and crude products produced using such systems andmethods.

BACKGROUND

The petroleum industry is increasingly turning to heavy oil feeds suchas heavy crudes, resids, coals, tar sands, etc., as sources forfeedstocks. These feedstocks are characterized by high concentrations ofasphaltenes rich residues, and low API gravities, with some being as lowas less than 0° API.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,390,398, 7,431,822, 7,431,823, and 7431831describeprocesses, systems, and catalysts for processing heavy oil feeds. Invarious embodiments in the prior art, spent slurry catalyst andunconverted heavy oil feeds are recycled back to the process andcombined with fresh heavy oil feeds, thus maximizing heavy oilconversion.

There is still a need for improved systems and methods to upgrade/treatprocess heavy oil feeds, particularly improved systems for better rawmaterial utilization with less catalyst usage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention relates to a process for hydroprocessing aheavy oil feedstock, the process employs a plurality of contacting zonesand at least a separation zone, the process comprising: providing ahydrogen containing gas feed; providing a slurry catalyst comprising anactive catalyst in a hydrocarbon oil diluent; combining at least aportion of the hydrogen containing gas feed, at least a portion of theheavy oil feedstock, and at least a portion of the slurry catalyst in afirst contacting zone under hydrocracking conditions at a sufficienttemperature and a sufficient pressure to convert at least a portion ofthe heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgradedproducts; sending a first effluent stream from the first contacting zonecomprising a mixture of the upgraded products, the slurry catalyst, thehydrogen containing gas, and unconverted heavy oil feedstock as a feedto a first separation zone, wherein volatile upgraded products areremoved with the hydrogen containing gas as a first overhead stream, andthe slurry catalyst, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, and theunconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed as a first non-volatilestream; wherein the plurality of contacting zones and separation zonesare configured in a permutable fashion for the plurality of contactingzones and separation zones to operate in: a sequential mode; a parallelmode; a combination of parallel and sequential mode; all online; someonline and some on stand-by; some online and some off-line; a parallelmode with the effluent stream from the contacting zone being sent to atleast a separation zone in series with the contacting zone; a parallelmode with the effluent stream from the contacting zone being combinedwith an effluent stream from at least another contacting zone and sentto the separation zone; and combinations thereof.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a process forhydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the process employing a pluralityof contacting zones and at least a separation zone, including a firstcontacting zone and a contacting zone other than the first contactingzone, the process comprising: providing a hydrogen containing gas feed;providing a heavy oil feedstock; providing a slurry catalyst feedcomprising an active metal catalyst having an average particle size ofat least 1 micron in a hydrocarbon oil diluent, at a concentration ofgreater than 500 wppm of active metal catalyst to heavy oil feedstock;combining at least a portion of the hydrogen containing gas feed, atleast a portion of the heavy oil feedstock, and at least a portion ofthe slurry catalyst feed in a first contacting zone under hydrocrackingconditions to convert at least a portion of the first heavy oilfeedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products;sending a first effluent stream from the first contacting zonecomprising the upgraded products, the slurry catalyst, the hydrogencontaining gas, and unconverted heavy oil feedstock to a firstseparation zone, wherein volatile upgraded products are removed with thehydrogen containing gas as a first overhead stream, and the slurrycatalyst, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, and the unconvertedheavy oil feedstock are separated and removed as a first non-volatilestream, wherein the first non-volatile stream contains less than 30%solid; collecting the first overhead stream for further processing in aproduct purification unit; and collecting the first non-volatile streamsfor further processing including slurry catalyst separation andrecovery, wherein the slurry catalyst is separated from the unconvertedheavy oil feedstock and the heavier hydrocracked liquid products andrecovered.

In a third aspect, the invention relates to a process forhydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the process employing a pluralityof contacting zones and at least a separation zone, including a firstcontacting zone and a contacting zone other than the first contactingzone, the process comprising: providing a hydrogen containing gas feed;providing a heavy oil feedstock; providing at least an additive materialselected from inhibitor additives, anti-foam agents, stabilizers, metalscavengers, metal contaminant removers, metal passivators, andsacrificial materials, in an amount of less than 1 wt. % of the heavyoil feedstock; providing a slurry catalyst feed comprising an activemetal catalyst having an average particle size of at least 1 micron in ahydrocarbon oil diluent; combining at least a portion of the hydrogencontaining gas feed, at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock, atleast a portion of the additive material, and at least a portion of theslurry catalyst feed in a first contacting zone under hydrocrackingconditions to convert at least a portion of the first heavy oilfeedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products;sending a first effluent stream from the first contacting zone to afirst separation zone, wherein volatile upgraded products are removedwith the hydrogen containing gas as a first overhead stream, and theslurry catalyst, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, and unconvertedheavy oil feedstock are separated and removed as a first non-volatilestream, wherein the first non-volatile stream contains less than 30%solid; collecting the first overhead stream for further processing in aproduct purification unit; and collecting the first non-volatile streamfor further processing in a catalyst recovery unit.

In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a process for a processfor hydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the process employing aplurality of contacting zones and at least a separation zone, theprocess comprising: providing a hydrogen containing gas feed; providinga heavy oil feedstock; providing a slurry catalyst feed comprising anactive metal catalyst having an average particle size of at least 1micron in a hydrocarbon oil diluent; combining at least a portion of thehydrogen containing gas feed, at least a portion of the heavy oilfeedstock, and at least a portion of the slurry catalyst feed in a firstcontacting zone under hydrocracking conditions, operating at a firstpressure, to convert at least a portion of the first heavy oil feedstockto lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products; sending afirst effluent stream from the first contacting zone to a firstseparation zone having an entry pressure of most 100 psi less than thefirst pressure, wherein volatile upgraded products are removed with thehydrogen containing gas as a first overhead stream, and the slurrycatalyst, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, and unconverted heavyoil feedstock are removed as a first non-volatile stream, wherein thefirst non-volatile stream contains less than 30% solid; collecting thefirst overhead stream for further processing in a product purificationunit; and collecting the first non-volatile stream for furtherprocessing in a catalyst recovery unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram that schematically illustrates an embodiment ofa once-through upgrade system with two contacting zones running insequential mode (series).

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a second embodiment of an upgrade processwith three contacting zones running in sequential mode, with each of thecontacting zones having a separation zone in series with optionalby-pass.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a once-through upgradeprocess with three contacting zones running in tandem (parallel), witheach of the contacting zones having a separation zone in series withoptional by-pass.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a flexible once-throughupgrade process with a plurality of contacting zones and separationzones, and with some of the contacting zones running in sequential mode,with the third reactor on stand-by, or running in tandem with separatefeed streams.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of the flexibleonce-through upgrade process with the units running in tandem (parallel)with steam injection, VGO and additive feeds to some of the contactingzones.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of the flexibleonce-through upgrade process with three contacting zones running intandem (parallel) and sharing one separation zone.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of yet another embodiment of a once-throughupgrade process with two contacting zones running in sequential mode,which sequential run is in tandem with a single contacting in an upgradeoperation with its own heavy oil feed, optional VGO feed, and catalystfeed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an improved system to treat or upgradeheavy oil feeds, particularly heavy oil feedstock having high levels ofheavy metals.

The following terms will be used throughout the specification and willhave the following meanings unless otherwise indicated.

As used herein, “heavy oil” feed or feedstock refers to heavy andultra-heavy crudes, including but not limited to resids, coals, bitumen,shale oils, tar sands, etc. Heavy oil feedstock may be liquid,semi-solid, and/or solid. Examples of heavy oil feedstock that might beupgraded as described herein include but are not limited to Canada Tarsands, vacuum resid from Brazilian Santos and Campos basins, EgyptianGulf of Suez, Chad, Venezuelan Zulia, Malaysia, and Indonesia Sumatra.Other examples of heavy oil feedstock include bottom of the barrel andresiduum left over from refinery processes, including “bottom of thebarrel” and “residuum” (or “resid”)—atmospheric tower bottoms, whichhave a boiling point of at least 343° C. (650° F.), or vacuum towerbottoms, which have a boiling point of at least 524° C. (975° F.), or“resid pitch” and “vacuum residue”—which have a boiling point of 524° C.(975° F.) or greater.

Properties of heavy oil feedstock may include, but are not limited to:TAN of at least 0.1, at least 0.3, or at least 1; viscosity of at least10 cSt; API gravity at most 15 in one embodiment, and at most 10 inanother embodiment. A gram of heavy oil feedstock typically contains atleast 0.0001 grams of Ni/V/Fe; at least 0.005 grams of heteroatoms; atleast 0.01 grams of residue; at least 0.04 grams C5 asphaltenes; atleast 0.002 grams of MCR; per gram of crude; at least 0.00001 grams ofalkali metal salts of one or more organic acids; and at least 0.005grams of sulfur. In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstock has a sulfurcontent of at least 5 wt. % and an API gravity of from −5 to +5.

In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstock comprises Athabasca bitumen(Canada) having at least 50% by volume vacuum resid. In anotherembodiment, the feedstock is a Boscan (Venezuela) feed with at least 64%by volume vacuum residue. In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstockcontains at least 100 ppm V (per gram of heavy oil feedstock). Inanother embodiment, the V level ranges between 500 and 1000 ppm. In athird embodiment, at least 2000 ppm.

The terms “treatment,” “treated,” “upgrade”, “upgrading” and “upgraded”,when used in conjunction with a heavy oil feedstock, describes a heavyoil feedstock that is being or has been subjected to hydroprocessing, ora resulting material or crude product, having a reduction in themolecular weight of the heavy oil feedstock, a reduction in the boilingpoint range of the heavy oil feedstock, a reduction in the concentrationof asphaltenes, a reduction in the concentration of hydrocarbon freeradicals, and/or a reduction in the quantity of impurities, such assulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, halides, and metals.

The upgrade or treatment of heavy oil feeds is generally referred hereinas “hydroprocessing”. Hydroprocessing is meant as any process that iscarried out in the presence of hydrogen, including, but not limited to,hydroconversion, hydrocracking, hydrogenation, hydrotreating,hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodemetallation,hydrodearomatization, hydroisomerization, hydrodewaxing andhydrocracking including selective hydrocracking. The products ofhydroprocessing may show improved viscosities, viscosity indices,saturates content, low temperature properties, volatilities anddepolarization, etc.

As used herein, hydrogen refers to hydrogen, and/or a compound orcompounds that when in the presence of a heavy oil feed and a catalystreact to provide hydrogen.

SCF/BBL (or scf/bbl) refers to a unit of standard cubic foot of gas (N₂,H₂, etc.) per barrel of hydrocarbon feed.

Nm³/m³ refers to normal cubic meters of gas per cubic meter of heavy oilfeed.

VGO or vacuum gas oil, referring to hydrocarbons with a boiling rangedistribution between 343° C. (650° F.) and 538° C. (1000° F.) at 0. 101MPa.

As used herein, the term “catalyst precursor” refers to a compoundcontaining one or more catalytically active metals, from which compounda catalyst is eventually formed. It should be noted that a catalystprecursor may be catalytically active as a hydroprocessing catalyst. Asused herein, “catalyst precursor” may be referred herein as “catalyst”when used in the context of a catalyst feed.

As used herein, the term “fresh catalyst” refers to a catalyst or acatalyst precursor that has not been used in a reactor in ahydroprocessing operation. The term fresh catalyst herein also includes“re-generated” or “rehabilitated” catalysts, e.g., catalyst that hasbeen used in at least a reactor in a hydroprocessing operation (“usedcatalyst”) but its catalytic activity has been restored or at leastincreased to a level well above the used catalytic activity level. Theterm “fresh catalyst” may be used interchangeably with “fresh slurrycatalyst”.

As used herein, the term “slurry catalyst” (or sometimes referred to as“slurry”, or “dispersed catalyst”) refers to a liquid medium, e.g., oil,water, or mixtures thereof, in which catalyst and/or catalyst precursorparticles (aggregates, particulates or crystallites) are dispersedwithin. The term slurry catalyst refers to a fresh catalyst, or acatalyst that has been used in heavy oil upgrading and with diminishedactivity.

In one embodiment, the slurry catalyst feed stream contains a freshcatalyst. In another embodiment, the slurry catalyst feed contains awell-dispersed catalyst precursor composition capable of forming anactive catalyst in situ within the feed heaters and/or the contactingzone. The catalyst particles can be introduced into the medium (diluent)as powder in one embodiment, a precursor in another embodiment, or aftera pre-treatment step in a third embodiment. In one embodiment, themedium (or diluent) is a hydrocarbon oil diluent. In another embodiment,the liquid medium is the heavy oil feedstock itself In yet anotherembodiment, the liquid medium is a hydrocarbon oil other than the heavyoil feedstock, e.g., a VGO medium or diluent.

As used herein, the “catalyst feed” includes any catalyst suitable forupgrading heavy oil feed stocks, e.g., one or more bulk catalysts and/orone or more catalysts on a support. In one embodiment, the catalyst feedis in the form of a slurry catalyst.

As used herein, the term “bulk catalyst” may be used interchangeablywith “unsupported catalyst,” meaning that the catalyst composition isNOT of the conventional catalyst form which has, e.g., having apreformed, shaped catalyst support which is then loaded with metals viaimpregnation or deposition catalyst. In one embodiment, the bulkcatalyst is formed through precipitation. In another embodiment, thebulk catalyst has a binder incorporated into the catalyst composition.In yet another embodiment, the bulk catalyst is formed from metalcompounds and without any binder. In a fourth embodiment, the bulkcatalyst is a dispersing-type catalyst for use as dispersed catalystparticles in mixture of liquid (e.g., hydrocarbon oil). In oneembodiment, the catalyst comprises one or more commercially knowncatalysts, e.g., Microcat™ from ExxonMobil Corp.

As used herein, the term “contacting zone” refers to an equipment inwhich the heavy oil feed is treated or upgraded by contact with a slurrycatalyst feed in the presence of hydrogen. In a contacting zone, atleast a property of the crude feed may be changed or upgraded. Thecontacting zone can be a reactor, a portion of a reactor, multipleportions of a reactor, or combinations thereof The term “contactingzone” may be used interchangeably with “reacting zone”.

In one embodiment, the upgrade process comprises a plurality ofreactors, employed as contacting zones, with the reactors being the sameor different in configurations. Examples of reactors that can be usedherein include stacked bed reactors, fixed bed reactors, ebullating bedreactors, continuous stirred tank reactors, fluidized bed reactors,spray reactors, liquid/liquid contactors, slurry reactors, liquidrecirculation reactors, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, thereactor is an up-flow reactor. In another embodiment, a down-flowreactor. In one embodiment, the contacting zone refers to at least aslurry-bed hydrocracking reactor in series with at least a fixed bedhydrotreating reactor. In another embodiment, at least one of thecontacting zones further comprises an in-line hydrotreater, capable ofremoving over 70% of the sulfur, over 90% of nitrogen, and over 90% ofthe heteroatoms in the crude product being processed.

As used herein, the term “separation zone” refers to an equipment inwhich upgraded heavy oil feed from a contacting zone is either feddirectly into, or subjected to one or more intermediate processes andthen fed directly into the separation zone, e.g., a high pressure hightemperature flash drum or flash separator, wherein gases and volatileliquids are separated from the non-volatile fraction. In one embodiment,the non-volatile fraction stream comprises unconverted heavy oil feed, asmall amount of heavier hydrocracked liquid products (synthetic orless-volatile / non-volatile upgraded products), the slurry catalyst andany entrained solids (asphaltenes, coke, etc.). In one embodiment, theseparation zone provides a pressure drop from one contacting zone to thenext one in series. The pressure drop induces by the separation zoneallows the gas and volatile liquids to be separated from thenon-volatile fraction.

In one embodiment, both the contacting zone and the separation zone arecombined into one equipment, e.g., a reactor having an internalseparator, or a multi-stage reactor-separator. In this type ofreactor-separator configuration, the vapor product exits the top of theequipment, and the non-volatile fractions exit the side or bottom of theequipment with the slurry catalyst and entrained solid fraction, if any.

In one embodiment, the upgrade system comprises a single reactorfollowed by a separator. In another embodiment, the system comprises atleast two upflow reactors in series with at least a separator, with atleast a separator being positioned right after the last reactor inseries. In yet another embodiment, a plurality of reactors in seriesoperating as a single train. In a fourth embodiment, a parallel trainwith a plurality of reactors. In a fifth embodiment, a plurality ofreactors configured in combination of parallel and series operations.There are other embodiments wherein the upgrade system is configured forflexible operation, going from one operating mode to another, e.g.,running in parallel (tandem) to running in series (sequential) withdifferent combinations of reactors/flash separators.

In one embodiment, the upgrade system may comprise a combination ofreactors and separators in series with multi-stage reactor-separators,with a solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit being positioned as an interstagetreatment system between any two reactors in series, or before the firstreactor in the series.

The upgrade system is characterized as operating in once-through mode,which differs from the upgrade system in the prior art in that slurrycatalyst and heavy oil feedstock flow through the contacting zone(s)once, instead of being recycled or recirculated around the system as inthe prior art. In the once-through upgrade system, virtually none of theunconverted material and slurry catalyst mixture is recycled back to the1^(st) (or previous) contacting zone or reactor in the series.Non-volatile materials from the last separation zone in the upgradesystem, comprising unconverted materials, heavier hydrocracked liquidproducts (synthetic products or non-volatile/less-volatile upgradedproducts), slurry catalyst, small amounts of coke, asphaltenes, etc., inone embodiment are sent off-site for further processing/regeneration ofthe catalyst, or to a deoiling unit to separate the spent catalyst fromthe hydrocarbons, and subsequently to a metal recovery unit to recoverprecious metals from the spent catalyst.

The deoiling unit and/or the metal recovery unit can be in the samelocation as the once-through upgrade system, or they can be in adifferent location from the once-through upgrade system, e.g., deoilingbeing handled by a different party in a different location or country,and/or metal recovery is done off-site by a contractor in a differentlocation or country.

Process Conditions: In one embodiment, the upgrade system is maintainedunder hydrocracking conditions, e.g., at a minimum temperature to effecthydrocracking of a heavy oil feedstock. In one embodiment, the systemoperates at a temperature ranging from 400° C. (752° F.) to 600° C.(1112° F.), and a pressure ranging from 10 MPa (1450 psi) to 25 MPa(3625 psi). In one embodiment, the process condition being controlled tobe more or less uniformly across the contacting zones. In anotherembodiment, the condition varies between the contacting zones forupgrade products with specific properties.

In one embodiment, the contacting zone process temperature ranges fromabout 400° C. (752° F.) to about 600° C. (1112 ° F.), less than 500° C.(932° C.) in another embodiment, and greater than 425° C. (797° F.) inanother embodiment. In one embodiment, the system operates with atemperature difference between the inlet and outlet of a contacting zoneranging from 5 to 50° F.

The temperature of the separation zone is maintained within ±90° F.(about ±50° C.) of the contacting zone temperature in one embodiment,within ±70° F. (about ±38.9° C.) in a second embodiment, within ±15° F.(about ±8.3° C.) in a third embodiment, and within ±5° F. (about ±2.8°C.) in a fourth embodiment. In one embodiment, the temperaturedifference between the last separation zone and the immediatelypreceding contacting zone is within ±50° F. (about ±28° C.).

The process pressure in the contacting zones ranges from about 10 MPa(1,450 psi) to about 25 MPa (3,625 psi) in one embodiment, about 15 MPa(2,175 psi) to about 20 MPa (2,900 psi) in a second embodiment, lessthan 22 MPa (3,190 psi) in a third embodiment, and more than 14 MPa(2,030 psi) in a fourth embodiment.

The once-through upgrade system is characterized by a much higherthroughput rate as compared to an upgrade system in the prior art (withrecycle of unconverted heavy oil feeds). The liquid hourly spacevelocity (LHSV) of the heavy oil feed in each of the contacting zoneswill generally range from about 0.075 h⁻¹ to about 2 h⁻¹ in oneembodiment; about 0.1 h.⁻¹ to about 1.5 h⁻¹ in a second embodiment,about 0. 15 h⁻¹ to about 1.75 h⁻¹ in a third embodiment, about 0.2 h⁻¹to about 1 h⁻¹ in a fourth embodiment, and about 0.2 h⁻¹ to about 0.5h⁻¹ in a fifth embodiment In one embodiments, LHSV is at least 0.1 h⁻¹.In another embodiment, the LHSV is less than 0.3 h⁻¹.

In one embodiment, the contacting zone comprises a single reactor orplurality of reactors in series, providing a total residence timeranging from 0.1 to 15 hours. In a second embodiment, the resident timeranges from 0.5 to 5 hrs. In a third embodiment, the total residencetime in the contacting zone ranges from 0.2 to 2 hours.

Minimizing Pressure Drop: In the prior art, it is disclosed that with ahigher pressure drop in a heavy oil upgrade system, i.e., a pressuredrop upon entering the separation zone of up to 1000 psi and preferablyin the range of 300 to 700 psi, lighter boiling materials can be moreeasily separated/removed from the upgrade system via the separationzone. A high pressure drop can be induced with the introduction ofpressure reducing devices. However, an upgrade system with a higherpressure drop is found to be operationally unstable, particularly withfrequent plugging due to deposit in equipment and/or common valveoperating problems including failure to open at set pressure due toplugging of the valve inlet or outlet, corrosion, or erosion of valves.

In one embodiment, the once-through upgrade system is configured foroptimal operation, e.g., efficiency with much less downtime due toequipment plugging compared to the prior art with less than 100 psipressure drop. The optimal efficiency is obtained in one embodiment withminimal pressure drop in the system, wherein the pressure of theseparation zone is maintained within ±10 to ±100 psi of the precedingcontacting zone in one embodiment, within ±20 to ±75 psi in a secondembodiment, and within ±50 to ±100 psi in a third embodiment. As usedhere, the pressure drop refers to the difference between the exitpressure of the preceding contacting zone X and the entry pressure ofthe separation Y, with (X−Y) being less than 100 psi.

Optimal efficiency can also be obtained with minimal pressure from onecontacting zone to the next contacting zone for a system operatingsequentially, with the pressure drop being maintained to be 100 psi orless in one embodiment, and 75 psi or less in a second embodiment, andless than 50 psi in a third embodiment. The pressure drop herein refersto the difference between the exit pressure of one contacting zone andthe entry pressure of the next contacting zone.

In one embodiment, the contacting zone is in direct fluid communicationto the next separation zone or contacting zone for a minimum pressuredrop. As used herein, direct fluid communication means that there isfree flow from the contacting zone to the next separation zone (or thenext contacting zone) in series, with no flow restriction. In oneembodiment, direct fluid communication is obtained with no flowrestriction due to presence of valves, orifices (or a similar device),or changes in pipe diameter.

In one embodiment, the minimal pressure drop from the contacting zone tothe next separation zone or contacting zone (upon entering theseparating zone or the contacting zone) is due to piping components,e.g., elbows, bends, tees in the line, etc., and not due to the use ofpressure reducing device such as valves, control valves, etc. to inducethe pressure drop as in the prior art. In the prior art, it is taughtthat the separation zone functions as an interstage pressuredifferential separator.

In one embodiment, the minimal pressure drop is induced by frictionloss, wall drag, volume increase, and changes in height as the effluentflows from the contacting zone to the next equipment in series. Ifvalves are used in the once through system, the valves areselected/configured such that the pressure drop from one equipment,e.g., the contacting zone, to the next piece of equipment is kept to beat 100 psi or lower.

Hydrogen Feed: In one embodiment, a hydrogen source is provided to theprocess. The hydrogen can also be added to the heavy oil feed prior toentering the preheater, or after the preheater. In one embodiment, thehydrogen feed enters the contacting zone co-currently with the heavy oilfeed in the same conduit. In another embodiment, the hydrogen source maybe added to the contacting zone in a direction that is counter to theflow of the feed. In a third embodiment, the hydrogen enters thecontacting zone via a gas conduit separately from the combined heavy oiland slurry catalyst feed stream. In a fourth embodiment, the hydrogenfeed is introduced directly to the combined catalyst and heavy oilfeedstock prior to being introduced into the contacting zone. In yetanother embodiment, the hydrogen gas and the combined heavy oil andcatalyst feed are introduced at the bottom of the reactor as separatestreams. In yet another embodiment, hydrogen gas can be fed into severalsections of/locations on the contacting zone.

In one embodiment, the hydrogen source is provided to the process at arate (based on ratio of the gaseous hydrogen source to the heavy oilfeed) of 0.1 Nm³/m³ to about 100,000 Nm³/m³ (0.563 to 563,380 SCF/bbl),about 0.5 Nm³/m³ to about 10,000 Nm³/m³ (2.82 to 56,338 SCF/bbl), about1 Nm³/m³ to about 8,000 Nm³/m³ (5.63 to 45,070 SCF/bbl), about 2 Nm³/m³to about 5,000 Nm³/m³ (11.27 to 28,169 SCF/bbl), about 5 Nm³/m³ to about3,000 Nm³/m³ (28.2 to 16,901 SCF/bbl), or about 10 Nm³/m³ to about 800Nm³/m³ (56.3 to 4,507 SCF/bbl).

In one embodiment, some of the hydrogen (25-75%) is supplied to thefirst contacting zone, and the rest is added as supplemental hydrogen toother contacting zones in the system.

The hydrogen source, in some embodiments, is combined with carriergas(es) and recirculated through the contacting zone. Carrier gas maybe, for example, nitrogen, helium, and/or argon. The carrier gas mayfacilitate flow of the heavy oil feed and/or flow of the hydrogen sourcein the contacting zone(s). The carrier gas may also enhance mixing inthe contacting zone(s). In some embodiments, a hydrogen source (forexample, hydrogen, methane or ethane) may be used as a carrier gas andrecirculated through the contacting zone.

Catalyst Feed: In one embodiment for an upgrade system running insequential mode, all of the slurry catalyst feed is provided to thefirst contacting zone. In other embodiments of the sequential mode, atleast a portion of the catalyst feed is “split” or diverted to at leastone other contacting zones in the system (other than the firstcontacting zone). In another embodiment with the contacting zonesrunning in tandem (parallel), all the contacting zones in operationreceive a slurry catalyst feed (along with a heavy oil feed).

In one embodiment, “at least a portion” means at least 10% of thecatalyst feed. In another embodiment, at least 20%. In a thirdembodiment, at least 40%. In a fourth embodiment, at least 50% of thecatalyst feed is diverted to at least a contacting zone other than thefirst one.

In one embodiment of a sequential operation, less than 60% of thecatalyst feed is fed to the first contacting zone in the system, with40% or more of the fresh catalyst being diverted to the other contactingzone(s) in the system. In another embodiment, the catalyst feed is beingequally split between the contacting zones in the system. In oneembodiment, at least a portion of the fresh catalyst feed is sent to atleast one of the intermediate contacting zones and/or the lastcontacting zone in the system.

In yet another embodiment, the process is configured for a flexiblecatalyst feed scheme such that the catalyst feed can sometimes be fed atfull rate (100% of the required catalyst rate) to the first reactor inthe system for a certain period of time, then split equally or accordingto pre-determined proportions to all of the reactors in the system for apre-determined amount of time, or split according to pre-determinedproportions for the catalyst feed to be fed to the different reactors atdifferent concentrations.

The slurry catalyst feed used herein may comprise one or more differentslurry catalysts as a single catalyst feed stream or separate feedstreams. In one embodiment, a single fresh catalyst feed stream issupplied to the contacting zones. In another embodiment, the freshcatalyst feed comprises multiple and different catalyst types, with acertain catalyst type going to one or more contacting zones (e.g., thefirst contacting zone in the system) as a separate stream, and adifferent slurry catalyst going to contacting zone(s) other than the1^(st) contacting zone in the system as a different catalyst stream.

In one embodiment, sending different catalysts to the front end and backend contacting zones can be useful in mitigating the vanadium trappingissue and sustain the overall upgrade performance. In one embodiment, aNi-only or a NiMo sulfide slurry catalyst rich in Ni is sent to thefront end reactor to help reduce vanadium trapping in the system, whilea different catalyst, e.g., Mo sulfide or a NiMo sulfide catalyst richin Mo, can be injected into the back end reactor(s) to maintain anoverall high conversion rate, improve product quality and possiblyreduce the gas yield in one embodiment. As used herein, a slurrycatalyst rich in Ni means that the Ni/Mo ratio is greater than 0.15 (aswt. %) Conversely, a slurry catalyst rich in Mo means that the Ni/Moratio is less than 0.05 (as wt. %).

In one embodiment, the slurry catalyst feed is first preconditionedbefore entering one of the contacting zones, or before being broughtinto contact with the heavy oil feed before entering the contactingzones. In one example, the catalyst enters into a preconditioning unitalong with hydrogen at a rate from 500 to 7500 SCF/BBL (BBL here refersto the total volume of heavy oil feed to the system). It is believedthat instead of bringing a cold catalyst in contact with the heavy oilfeed, the preconditioning step helps with the hydrogen adsorption intothe active catalyst sites, and ultimately the conversion rate. In oneembodiment in the precondition unit, the slurry catalyst/hydrogenmixture is heated to a temperature between 300° F. to 1000° F. (149 to538° C.). In another embodiment, the catalyst is preconditioned inhydrogen at a temperature of 500 to 725 ° F. (260 to 385° C.). In yetanother embodiment, the mixture is heated under a pressure of 300 to3200 psi in one embodiment; 500-3000 psi in a second embodiment; and600-2500 psi in a third embodiment.

Slurry Catalysts Employed: The slurry catalyst comprises an activecatalyst in a hydrocarbon oil diluent. In one embodiment, the catalystis a sulfided catalyst comprising at least a Group VIB metal, or atleast a Group VIII metal, or at least a group IIB metal, e.g., a ferricsulfide catalyst, zinc sulfide, nickel sulfide, molybdenum sulfide, oran iron zinc sulfide catalyst. In another embodiment, the catalyst is amulti-metallic catalyst comprising at least a Group VIB metal and atleast a Group VIII metal (as a promoter), wherein the metals may be inelemental form or in the form of a compound of the metal. In oneexample, the catalyst is a MoS₂ catalyst promoted with at least a groupVIII metal compound.

In one embodiment, the catalyst is a bulk multi-metallic catalystcomprising at least one Group VIII non-noble metal and at least twoGroup VIB metals, and wherein the ratio of the at least two Group VIBmetals to the Group VIII non-noble metal is from about 10:1 to about1:10. In another embodiment, the catalyst is of the formula(M^(t))_(a)(X^(u))_(b)(S^(v))_(d)(C^(w))_(e)(H^(x))_(f)(O^(y))_(g)(N^(z))_(h),wherein M represents at least one group VIB metal, such as Mo, W, etc.or a combination thereof; and X functions as a promoter metal,representing at least one of: a non-noble Group VIII metal such as Ni,Co; a Group VIII metal such as Fe; a Group VIB metal such as Cr; a GroupIVB metal such as Ti; a Group IIB metal such as Zn, and combinationsthereof (X is hereinafter referred to as “Promoter Metal”). Also in theequation, t, u, v, w, x, y, z representing the total charge for each ofthe component (M, X, S, C, H, O and N, respectively);ta+ub+vd+we+xf+yg+zh=0. The subscripts ratio of b to a has a value of 0to 5 (0<=b/a<=5). S represents sulfur with the value of the subscript dranging from (a+0.5b) to (5a+2b). C represents carbon with subscript ehaving a value of 0 to 11 (a+b). H is hydrogen with the value of franging from 0 to 7(a+b). O represents oxygen with the value of granging from 0 to 5(a+b); and N represents nitrogen with h having avalue of 0 to 0.5(a+b). In one embodiment, subscript b has a value of 0,for a single metallic component catalyst, e.g., Mo only catalyst (nopromoter).

In one embodiment, the catalyst is prepared from catalyst precursorcompositions including organometallic complexes or compounds, e.g., oilsoluble compounds or complexes of transition metals and organic acids.Examples of such compounds include naphthenates, pentanedionates,octoates, and acetates of Group VIB and Group VIII metals such as Mo,Co, W, etc. such as molybdenum naphthanate, vanadium naphthanate,vanadium octoate, molybdenum hexacarbonyl, and vanadium hexacarbonyl.

In one embodiment, the slurry catalyst has an average particle size ofat least 1 micron. In another embodiment, the slurry catalyst has anaverage particle size in the range of 1-20 microns. In a thirdembodiment, the slurry catalyst has an average particle size in therange of2-10 microns. In one embodiment, the slurry catalyst particlecomprises aggregates of catalyst molecules and/or extremely smallparticles that are colloidal in size (e.g., less than 100 nm, less thanabout 10 nm, less than about 5 nm, and less than about 1 nm). In yetanother embodiment, the catalyst particle comprises aggregates of singlelayer MoS₂ clusters of nanometer sizes, e.g., 5-10 nm on edge. Inoperations, the colloidal/nanometer sized particles aggregate in ahydrocarbon diluent, forming a slurry catalyst with an average particlesize in the range of 1-20 microns.

In one embodiment, a sufficient amount of slurry catalyst is fed to thecontacting zone(s) for each contacting zone to have a slurry (solid)catalyst concentration of at least 500 wppm to 3 wt.% (catalyst metal toheavy oil ratio).

In one embodiment for a conversion of at least 75% from heavy oilfeedstock to less than 1000° F. (538° C.) boiling point materials at ahigh through put of at least 0.15 LHSV, the amount of catalyst feed intothe contacting zone(s) ranges from 500 to 7500 wppm of the catalystmetal in heavy oil feed. In a second embodiment, the concentration ofthe fresh catalyst feed ranges from 750 to 5000 wppm catalyst metal. Ina third embodiment, from 1000 to 3000 wppm. In a fourth embodiment, theconcentration is less than 3000 wppm. In a fifth embodiment, theconcentration is at least 1200 ppm. Catalyst metal refers to the activemetal in the catalyst, e.g., for a NiMo sulfide slurry catalyst in whichNi is used as a promoter, the catalyst metal herein refers to the Moconcentration.

It is conceivable to use less catalyst for the upgrade system, e.g.,less than 500 ppm or even less than 200 ppm or 100 ppm. However, thiswill result in very poor/undesirable conversion rate of less than 50% inone embodiment, and even less than 10% in a second embodiment. The lowcatalyst level further results in unstable operations, e.g., letdown,coking, plugging, etc. with unconverted heavy oil in the equipment,particularly the reactors.

Optional Treatment System—SDA: In one embodiment, a solvent deasphaltingunit (SDA) is employed before the first contacting zone to pre-treat theheavy oil feedstock. In yet another embodiment, the SDA is employed asan intermediate unit located after one of the intermediate separationzones. SDA units are typically used in refineries to extract incrementallighter hydrocarbons from a heavy hydrocarbon stream, whereby theextracted oil is typically called deasphalted oil (DAO), while leaving aresidue stream behind that is more concentrated in heavy molecules andheteroatoms, typically known as SDA Tar, SDA Bottoms, etc. The SDA canbe a separate unit or a unit integrated into the upgrade system.

Various solvents may be used in the SDA, ranging from propanes tohexanes, depending on the desired level of deasphalting prior to feedingthe contact zone. In one embodiment, the SDA is configured to produce adeasphalted oil (DAO) for blending with the catalyst feed or feedingdirectly into the contacting zones instead of, or in addition to theheavy oil feed. As such, the solvent type and operating conditions canbe optimized such that a high volume and acceptable quality DAO isproduced and fed to the contacting zone. In this embodiment, a suitablesolvent to be used includes, but not limited to hexane or similar C6+solvent for a low volume SDA Tar and high volume DAO. This scheme wouldallow for the vast majority of the heavy oil feed to be upgraded in thesubsequent contacting zone, while the very heaviest, bottom of thebarrel bottoms that does not yield favorable incremental conversioneconomics due to the massive hydrogen addition requirement, to be usedin some other manner.

In one embodiment, all of the heavy oil feed is pre-treated in the SDAand the DAO product is fed into the first contacting zone, or fedaccording to a split feed scheme with at least a portion going to acontacting zone other than the first in the series. In anotherembodiment, some of the heavy oil feed (depending on the source) isfirst pre-treated in the SDA and some of the feedstock is fed directlyinto the contacting zone(s) untreated. In yet another embodiment, theDAO is combined with the untreated heavy oil feedstock as one feedstream to the contacting zone(s). In another embodiment, the DAO and theuntreated heavy oil feedstock are fed to the system as in separate feedconduits, with the DAO going to one or more of the contacting zones andthe untreated heavy oil feed going to one or more of the same ordifferent contacting zones.

In an embodiment wherein the SDA is employed as an intermediate unit,the non-volatile fraction comprising the slurry catalyst and optionallyminimum quantities of coke/asphaltenes, etc. from at least one of theseparation zones is sent to the SDA for treatment. From the SDA unit,the DAO is sent to at least one of the contacting zones as a feed streamby itself, in combination with a heavy oil feedstock as a feed, or incombination with the bottom stream from one of the separation zones as afeed. The DAO Bottoms comprising asphaltenes are sent away to recovermetal in any carry-over slurry catalyst, or for applications requiringasphaltenes, e.g., blended to fuel oil, used in asphalt, or utilized insome other applications.

In one embodiment, the quality of the DAO and DAO Bottoms is varied byadjusting the solvent used and the desired recovery of DAO relative tothe heavy oil feed. In an optional pretreatment unit such as the SDA,the more DAO oil that is recovered, the poorer the overall quality ofthe DAO, and the poorer the overall quality of the DAO Bottoms. Withrespect to the solvent selection, typically, as a lighter solvent isused for the SDA, less DAO will be produced, but the quality will bebetter, whereas if a heavier solvent is used, more DAO will be produced,but the quality will be lower. This is due to, among other factors, thesolubility of the asphaltenes and other heavy molecules in the solvent.

Heavy Oil Feed: The heavy oil feed here herein may comprise one or moredifferent heavy oil feeds from different sources as a single feedstream, or as separate heavy oil feed streams. In one embodiment, asingle heavy oil conduit pipe goes to all the contacting zones. Inanother embodiment, multiple heavy oil conduits are employed to supplythe heavy oil feed to the different contacting zones, with some heavyoil feed stream(s) going to one or more contacting zones, and otherheavy oil feed stream(s) going to one or more different contactingzones.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the heavy oil feed (to beupgraded) is “split” or diverted to at least one other contacting zones(other than the first contacting zone), or to a SDA unit prior to beingfed into a contacting zone. In one embodiment of a sequential operation,less than 90% of the unconverted heavy oil feed is fed to the firstreactor in the system, with 10% or more of the unconverted heavy oilfeed being diverted to the other contacting zone(s) in the system. Inanother embodiment of a tandem operation, the heavy oil feed is beingequally split between the contacting zones in the system. In yet anotherembodiment, less than 80% of the unconverted heavy oil feed is fed tothe first contacting zone in the system, and the remaining heavy oilfeed is diverted to the last contacting zone in the system. In a fourthembodiment, less than 60% of the heavy oil feed is fed to the firstcontacting zone in the system, and the remainder of the unconvertedheavy oil feed is equally split between the other contacting zones inthe system.

In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstock is preheated prior to beingblended with the slurry catalyst feed stream(s). In another embodiment,the blend of heavy oil feedstock and slurry catalyst feed is preheatedto create a feedstock that is sufficiently of low viscosity to allowgood mixing of the catalyst into the feedstock. In one embodiment, thepreheating is conducted at a temperature that is at least about 100° C.(212° F.) less than the hydrocracking temperature within the contactingzone. In another embodiment, the preheating is at a temperature that isabout at least 50° C. less than the hydrocracking temperature within thecontacting zone. In a third embodiment, the preheating of the heavy oilfeedstock and/or a mixture of heavy oil feedstock and slurry catalyst isat a temperature of 500-700° F. (260-37 1° C.).

Optional Additive—Anti-foam Injection: As used herein, the front-endcontacting zone (or the first contacting zone) means the 1^(st) reactorin a sequential operation with a plurality of contacting zones. In oneembodiment of a system with at least three contacting zones, the firstfront-end contacting zone may include both first and second reactors. Inone embodiment, at least an anti-foam agent is injected to at least acontacting zone in the system to minimize the amount of foam and enablefull utilization of the reaction zone. As used herein, the termanti-foam includes both anti-foam and defoamer materials, for preventingfoam from happening and/or reducing the extent of foaming. Additionally,some anti-foam material may have both functions, e.g.,reducing/mitigating foaming under certain conditions, and preventingfoam from happening under other operating conditions.

Anti-foam agents can be selected from a wide range of commerciallyavailable products such as the silicones, e.g., polydimethyl siloxane(PDMS), polydiphenyl siloxane, fluorinated siloxane, etc., in an amountof 1 to 500 ppm of the heavy oil feedstock. In one embodiment, a highmolecular PDMS is used, e.g., with a viscosity of over 60,000 cSt in oneembodiment, over 100,000 cSt in another embodiment, and over 600,000 cStin a third embodiment. It is believed that a higher viscosity (highermolecular weight) anti-foam agent decomposes more slowly and less proneto catalyst poisoning due to Si contamination.

In one embodiment, the anti-foam agent is added to a hydrocarbon solventsuch as kerosene, which reduces the viscosity of the anti-foam and makesit pumpable. In one embodiment, the ratio of anti-foam to solvent rangesfrom 1:1 to 1:1000. In another embodiment, from 1:2 to 1:100. In a thirdembodiment, from 1:3 to 1:50. In one embodiment, the anti-foam agent isdiluted in a sufficient amount of hydrocarbon solvent for it to have aviscosity of less than 1000 cSt, so it can be handled using standardequipment.

In one embodiment, the anti-foam is added directly to the heavy oilfeedstock. In another embodiment, the mixture is injected into multiplepoints along an upflow reactor. In yet another embodiment, the anti-foamsolvent mixture is injected to the top of the upflow reactor. In afourth embodiment, the injection is into a region within the upper 30%of the reactor height. The injection of the anti-foam into the top ofthe reactor in one embodiment increases the liquid back mixing in thereactor.

Optional Additives—Inhibitors/Stabilizers/Sacrificial Materials: In oneembodiment, in addition to or in place of the anti-foam agents, at leastan additive selected from inhibitors, stabilizers, metal scavengers,metal contaminant removers, metal passivators, and sacrificial materialsis added to the contacting zone in an amount ranging from 1 to 20,000ppm of the heavy oil feed (collectively, “additive material”). In asecond embodiment, the additive material is added in an amount of lessthan 10,000 ppm. In a third embodiment, the additive material rangesfrom 50 to 1000 ppm.

It should be noted that some additives may have multiple functions. Inone embodiment, some metal scavengers may also function as metalcontaminant removers and/or metal passivators under the appropriateconditions. In another embodiment, the sacrificial material used mayfunction as a metal scavenger for adsorbing heavy metals in the heavyoil feed. Some other sacrificial materials, besides functioning as ametal scavenger for absorbing metals, also absorb or trap othermaterials including deposited coke.

In one embodiment, the additive material is added directly to the heavyoil feedstock. In another embodiment, the additive material is added tothe slurry catalyst feed. In a third embodiment, the additive materialis added to the contacting zone as a separate feed stream.

In one embodiment, the additive material can be added as is, or in asuitable diluent or carrier solvent. Exemplary carrier solvents includebut are not limited to aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as toluene,xylene, and crude oil derived aromatic distillates. Exemplary diluentsinclude vacuum gas oil, diesel, decant oil, cycle oil, and or light gasoil. In some embodiments, the additive material may be dispersed in asmall portion of the heavy oil feedstock.

In one embodiment, the additive material is injected into the topsection of the reactor. In another embodiment, the additive material isinjected into a plurality of feed ports along an upflow reactor.

In one embodiment, the additive material is selected to effect a goodemulsification or dispersion of the asphaltenes in the heavy oil. In yetanother embodiment, the additive is selected to increase storagestability and or improved pumpability of the heavy oil feedstock. In yetanother embodiment, the additive is a stabilizer compound containingpolar bonds such as acetone, diethyl ketone, and nitrobenze, added in anamount between 0.001 to 0.01 wt. % of the heavy oil feed.

In one embodiment, the additive material is an inhibitor additive,selected from the group of oil soluble polynuclear aromatic compounds,elastic modulus lowering agents, e.g., organic and inorganic acids andbases and metallo-porphyrins. In another embodiment, the additive is aselected alkoxylated fatty amine or fatty amine derivative and a specialmetal salt compound, e.g., a metal soap.

In one embodiment, the additive material is a “sacrificial material” (or“trapping material”) which functions to trap, or for the deposit of,and/or immobilization of deposited coke and/or metals (Ni, V, Fe, Na) inthe heavy oil feed, mitigating the detrimental effects on thesematerials on the catalyst and/or equipment. In another embodiment, theadditive material functions to immobilize/adsorb the asphaltenes in theheavy oil feedstock, thus mitigating catalyst deactivation. In oneembodiment, the sacrificial material has large pores, e.g, having a BETsurface area of at least 1 m²/g in one embodiment, at least 10 m²/g in asecond embodiment, and at least 25 m²/g in another embodiment. In yetanother embodiment, the additive material is a sacrificial materialhaving a pore volume of at least 0.005 cm³/g. In a second embodiment, apore volume of at least 0.05 cm³/g. In a third embodiment, a total porevolume of at least 0. 1 cm³/g. In a fourth embodiment, a pore volume ofat least 0. 1 cm³/g. In one embodiment, the sacrificial material has apore volume of at least 0.5 cm³/g. In another embodiment, at least 1cm³/g.

In one embodiment, the sacrificial material comprises a large pore inertmaterial such microspheres of calcined kaolin clay. In anotherembodiment, the sacrificial material is characterized by having at least20% of its pore volume constituted by pores of at least 100 Angstrom;and 150-600 Angstrom in a second embodiment.

Examples of additive materials for use in trapping deposits/metalscavenging include but are not limited to silicate compounds such asMg₂SiO₄ and Fe₂SiO₄; inorganic oxides such as iron oxide compounds,e.g., FeO.Fe₂O₃, FeO, Fe₃O₄, Fe₂O₃, etc. Other examples of additivematerials include silicate compounds such as fume silica, Al₂O₃, MgO,MgAl₂O₄, zeolites, microspheres of calcined kaolin clay, titania, activecarbon, carbon black, and combinations thereof Examples of metalpassivators include but are not limited to alkaline earth metalcompounds, antimony, and bismuth.

In one embodiment, the additive material is a commercially availablemetal scavenger from sources such as Degussa, Albermale, Phosphonics,and Polysciences. In one embodiment, the metal scavenger is amacroporous organofunction polysiloxane from Degussa under the tradenameDELOXANE™.

In one embodiment, the scavenger/trapping/scavenger material originatesfrom a slurry catalyst, specifically, a spent slurry catalyst in a drypowder form. In one embodiment, the spent slurry catalyst is from aheavy oil upgrade system having at least 75% of the heavy oil removedusing means known in the art, e.g., deoiling via membrane filtration,solvent extraction, and the like. The spent slurry catalyst for use as asacrificial material in one embodiment has a BET surface area of atleast 1 m²/g for the trapping of coke/metals that would otherwisedeposit along the reactor internals. In a second embodiment, the spentslurry catalyst has a BET surface area of at least 10 m²/g. In a thirdembodiment, the BET surface area is greater than 100 m²/g.

In one embodiment, the additive is a scavenger/trapping/scavengermaterial originated from a spent deoiled slurry catalyst, wherein someor most of the metals have been removed. In one embodiment, the additiveis in the form of dried spent slurry catalyst having at least some ormost of the metals such as nickel, molybdenum, cobalt, etc., removedfrom the spent catalyst. In one embodiment, the sacrificial material isin the form of solid residue comprising coke and some group VB metalcomplex, such as ammonium metavanadate, which residue is obtained aftermost of the metals such as molybdenum and nickel have been removed in apressure leaching process. In yet another embodiment, the sacrificialmaterial is in the form of solid residue comprising primarily coke, withvery little vanadium left (in the form of ammonium metavanadate).

In another embodiment, the sacrificial material is carbon black which isselected due to its high surface area, various pore size structure, andeasy recovery/separation from heavy metals by combustion. Furthermore,the carbon material is relatively soft, thus minimizing damage on letdown valves and other plant materials. In one embodiment, the carbonmaterial can be any generally commonly known and commercially availablematerial. Examples include but are not limited to porous particulatecarbon solid characterized by a size distribution ranging from 1 to 100microns and a BET surface area ranging from 10 to over 2,000 m²g. In oneembodiment, the carbon material has an average particle size rangingfrom 1 to 50 microns and a BET surface area from about 90 to about 1,500M²/g. In another embodiment, the carbon material has an average particlesize ranging from 10 to 30 microns. Optionally, the catalyst materialcan be pretreated by one or more techniques as generally known in theart such calcination and/or impregnating first with the slurry catalystprior to being fed into the upgrade system and/or mixed with the heavyoil feedstock.

In one embodiment, the additive material comprises activated carbonhaving large surface area, e.g., a pore area of at least 100 m²/g, and apore diameter range between 100 to 400 Angstrom. In one embodiment, theadditive material is a commercially available powdered activated carbonfrom Norit as DARCO KB-G™ with a D-90 of 40 microns. In anotherembodiment, the commercially available carbon material is DARCO INSUL™with a D-90 of 23 microns. In yet another embodiment, the additivematerial comprises carbon black obtained by the coking of spent slurrycatalyst in heavy oil residual from a metal recovery process torecover/separate metals from a spent slurry catalyst.

In one embodiment, the additive material serves a plurality of function,e.g., deposit trapping/metal scavenging and anti-foaming, deposittrapping/metal scavenging and mesophases suppressing, etc., with the useof a surface treated sacrificial material. In one embodiment, thesacrificial material is surface treated (or coated) with at least anadditive material such as an inhibitor and/or an anti-foam agent.

In one embodiment, the additive material is surface-modified carbonblack. In one embodiment, the surface treated carbon black containsreactive function groups on the surface that provide the anti-foamproperties, and with the requisite surface area and pore size structureto trap and/or immobilize deposited coke and/or metals (Ni, V, Fe, Na)in the heavy oil feed. In one embodiment, the additive is asurface-treated carbon black, with the carbon having been brought intocontact with a heavy oil additive, e.g., a silicone compound such asdialkyl siloxane polymers, polydimethyl siloxane, polydiphenyl siloxane,polydiphenyl dimethyl siloxane, fluorinated siloxanes, and mixturesthereof.

In another embodiment, the multi-function additive is a sacrificialmaterial surface treated with oil-soluble metal compounds such ascarboxylic acids and salts of carboxylic acids, oil soluble polynucleararomatic compounds, elastic modulus lowering agents, and other additivematerials known in the art.

In yet another embodiment, anti-foam agents, e.g., silicone compounds,hydrocarbon-based anti-foam agents, are sprayed onto a carrier such ascarbon black, titania, etc., one after another to generate amulti-function surface treated additive for use in the upgrade system.

Optional Water Injection—Controlling Heavy Metal Deposit: As usedherein, the front-end contacting zone (or the first contacting zone)means the 1^(st) reactor in a system with a plurality of contactingzones operating in sequential mode (series). In one embodiment of asystem with at least three contacting zones, the first front-endcontacting zone may include both first and second reactors. In anotherembodiment, the first contacting zone means the 1^(st) reactor only.

As used herein, the term “water” is used to indicate either water and/orsteam.

In one embodiment to control heavy metal deposit, water is optionallyinjected into the once-through upgrade system at a rate of about 1 to 25wt. % (relative to the heavy oil feedstock). In one embodiment, asufficient amount of water is injected for a water concentration in thesystem in the range of 2 to 15 wt. %. In a third embodiment, asufficient amount is injected for a water concentration in the range of4to 10 wt. %.

The water can be added (injected) continually or intermittently asneeded to control heavy metal deposit and/or improve the activity of thecatalyst. The water can be added to the heavy oil feedstock before orafter preheating. In one embodiment, a substantial amount of water isadded to the heavy oil feedstock admixture that is to be preheated, anda substantial amount of water is added directly to the front endcontacting zone(s). In another embodiment, water is added to thefront-end contacting zone(s) via the heavy oil feedstock only. In yetanother embodiment, at least 50% of the water is added to the heavy oilfeedstock mixture to be heated, and the rest of the water is addeddirectly to the front end contacting zone(s).

In one embodiment, water is introduced to the system as part of theslurry catalyst feed. In one embodiment, water is added to the slurrycatalyst feed and pre-conditioned along with the slurry catalyst andhydrogen, prior to being fed to the system along with the heavy oilfeed, or as a separate feed stream.

In one embodiment, the water introduced into the system at thepreheating stage (prior to the preheating of the heavy oil feedstock),in an amount of about 1 to about 25 wt. % of the incoming heavy oilfeedstock. In one embodiment, water is added to as part of the heavy oilfeed to all of the contacting zones. In another embodiment, water isadded to the heavy oil feed to the first contacting zone only. In yetanother embodiment, water is added to the feed to the first twocontacting zones only.

In one embodiment, water is added directly into the contacting zone atmultiple points along the contacting zone, in ratio of 1 to 25 wt. % ofthe heavy oil feedstock. In yet another embodiment, water is addeddirectly into the first few contacting zones in the process which arethe most prone to deposits of heavy metals.

In one embodiment, some of the water is added to the process in the formof dilution steam. In one embodiment, at least 30% of the water added isin the form of steam. In the embodiments where water is added asdilution steam, the steam may be added at any point in the process. Forexample, it may be added to the heavy oil feedstock before or afterpreheating, to the catalyst/heavy oil mixture stream, and/or directlyinto the vapor phase of the contacting zones, or at multiple pointsalong the first contacting zone. The dilution steam stream may compriseprocess steam or clean steam. The steam may be heated or superheated ina furnace prior to being fed into the upgrade process.

It is believed that the presence of the water in the process favorablyalter the metallic compound sulfur molecular equilibrium, thus reducingthe heavy metal deposit. The water/steam in the first contacting zone isexpected to cut down on the heavy metal deposits onto the equipment. Inone embodiment, the addition of water is also believed to helpcontrol/maintain a desired temperature profile in the contacting zones.In yet another embodiment, it is believed that the addition of water tothe front end contacting zone(s) lowers the temperature of thereactor(s). The temperature of the first contacting zone can be kept atleast 5-25 degrees (Fahrenheit) lower than the temperature of the nextcontacting zone in series.

As the reactor temperature is lowered, it is believed that the rate ofreaction of the most reactive vanadium species slows down, allowingvanadium deposition onto the slurry catalyst to proceed in a morecontrolled manner and for the catalyst to carry the vanadium depositsout of the reactor thus limiting the solid deposit in the reactorequipment.

In one embodiment, the addition of water reduces the heavy metaldeposits in the reactor equipment at least 25% compared to an operationwithout the addition of water, for a comparable period of time inoperation, e.g., for at least 2 months. In another embodiment, theaddition of water reduces heavy metal deposits at least 50% compared toan operation without the water addition. In a third embodiment, theaddition of water reduces heavy metal deposits at least 75% compared toan operation without the water addition.

Optional Additional Hydrocarbon Feed: In one embodiment, additionalhydrocarbon oil feed, e.g., VGO (vacuum gas oil), naphtha, MCO (mediumcycle oil), light cycle oil (LCO), heavy cycle oil (HCO), solvent donor,or other aromatic solvents, etc. in an amount ranging from 2 to 40 wt. %of the heavy oil feed, can be optionally added as part of the heavy oilfeed stream to any of the contacting zones in the system. In oneembodiment, the additional hydrocarbon feed functions as a diluent tolower the viscosity of the heavy oil feed.

Controlling Heavy Metal Deposit with Reactor Temperature: In oneembodiment, instead of and/or in addition to the addition of water tothe front end contacting zone(s) in a sequential operation, thetemperature of the front end contacting zone(s) most prone to heavymetal deposits is lowered.

In one embodiment, the temperature of the first reactor is set to be atleast 10° F. (5.56° C.) lower than the next reactor in series. In asecond embodiment, the first reactor temperature is set to be at least15° F. (8.33° C.) than the next reactor in series. In a thirdembodiment, the temperature is set to be at least 20° F. (11.11° C.)lower. In a fourth embodiment, the temperature is set to be at least 25°F. (13.89° C.) lower than the next reactor in series.

System Performance: In one embodiment of the once-through upgrade systemand at a catalyst concentration substantially lower than in a prior artprocess with a recycle stream, e.g., at a concentration of less than5000 wppm catalyst metal, at least 75 wt % of heavy oil feed isconverted to lighter products in a high through-put one pass process(only one reactor is employed or multiple reactors are run intandem/parallel). In another embodiment, a conversion rate of at least80% is obtained with a slurry catalyst concentration in the range of750-4000 wppm catalyst metal in a process with two reactors running insequential mode. In a third embodiment, a conversion rate of at least80% with a catalyst concentration in the range of 750-2500 wppm and ahigh heavy oil through-put of 0.15 LHSV. In a fourth embodiment, aconcentration in the range of 1000-1500 wppm catalyst metal. In oneembodiment with three reactors in series, it was surprisingly found thatthe conversion rate was equal or better for the once-through upgradesystem with substantially less catalyst concentration (e.g., 2500 ppm)than a system in the prior art with recycle and higher catalystconcentration (e.g., 4200 ppm). As used herein, conversion rate refersto the conversion of heavy oil feedstock to less than 1000° F. (538° C.)boiling point materials.

In one embodiment, at least 98% of heavy oil feed is converted tolighter products with less than 5000 wppm catalyst metal in a processwith three reactors in series and no recycle. In another embodiment, theconversion rate is at least 98% with less than 2500 wppm catalyst metal.In yet another embodiment, the conversion rate is at least 80% with aslurry catalyst having a concentration of 1500-5000 wppm catalyst metal.In a fourth embodiment, the conversion rate is at least 95% with aslurry catalyst having a concentration of 1500-5000 wppm catalyst metal.

In one embodiment, the once-through upgrade system provides a sulfurconversion rate of at least 60%, a nitrogen conversion of at least 20%,and MCR conversion of at least 50% for a slurry catalyst concentrationin the range of 750-5000 wppm catalyst metal.

In one embodiment, the once-through upgrade system produces a volumeyield of at least 110% (compared to the heavy oil input) in upgradedproducts as added hydrogen expands the heavy oil total volume. Theupgraded products, e.g., lower boiling hydrocarbons, in one embodimentinclude liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline, diesel, vacuum gas oil(VGO), and jet and fuel oils. In a second embodiment, the upgrade systemprovides a volume yield of at least 115% in the form of LPG, naphtha,jet & fuel oils, and VGO.

Depending on the conditions and location of the separation zone, in oneembodiment, the amount of heavier hydrocracked products in thenon-volatile fraction stream is less than 50 wt. % (of the total weightof the non-volatile stream). In a second embodiment, the amount ofheavier hydrocracked products in the non-volatile stream from theseparation zone is less than 25 wt. %. In a third embodiment, the amountof heavier hydrocracked products in the non-volatile stream from theseparation zone is less than 15 wt. %. The amount of solids in theresidue stream varies depending on the conversion level as well asoptional additive materials employed, if any, e.g., sacrificialmaterials. In one embodiment, the solid level in the residue streamranges from 1 to 10% solid in one embodiment, 2-5% solid in anotherembodiment, less than 30 wt. % solid in a third embodiment, and lessthan 40 wt. % solid in a fourth embodiment.

Figures Illustrating Embodiments: Reference will be made to the figuresto further illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an upgrade system110 for upgrading heavy oil feedstock employing a slurry catalyst inonce-through mode. First, a heavy oil feedstock 104 is introduced intothe first contacting zone 120 in the system together with a slurrycatalyst feed 110. In the figure, the heavy oil feedstock 104 can bepreheated in a heater (not shown) prior to feeding into the contactingzone. Hydrogen 121 may be introduced together with the heavy oil/slurrycatalyst feed in the same conduit 122 as shown, or optionally, as aseparate feed stream. Although not shown, water and/or steam may beintroduced together with the feed and slurry catalyst in the sameconduit or a separate feed stream. Additionally, the mixture of water,heavy oil feed, and slurry catalyst can be preheated in a heater priorto feeding into the contacting zone. Additional hydrocarbon oil feed105, e.g., VGO, naphtha, in an amount ranging from 2 to 30 wt. % of theheavy oil feed can be optionally added as part of the feed stream to anyof the contacting zones in the system. In one embodiment, more than halfof the heavy oil feed is converted in the first contacting zone and atleast 25% of the hydrogen feed is consumed in the first contacting zone.

Effluent stream 123 comprising upgraded material, spent slurry catalyst,and unconverted heavy oil feed, hydrogen, etc., is withdrawn from the1^(st) contacting zone 120 and sent to separation zone 130, e.g., a hotseparator.

The separation zone 130 causes or allows the separation of gas andvolatile liquids from the non-volatile fractions. In one embodiment, thegaseous and volatile liquid fractions 131 are withdrawn from the top ofthe separation zone and taken for further processing in a lean contactoror a downstream process 160. The bottom stream 133 comprising slurrycatalyst and entrained solids, coke, unconverted heavy oil feedstock,hydrocarbons newly generated in the hot separator, etc., are withdrawnand fed to the next contacting zone 140 in the series, resulting inadditional reaction for more upgraded material. In another embodiment(not shown), the effluent stream 123 bypasses the separation zone 130and is sent directly to the next contacting zone 140 in series.

In one embodiment, additional portions of the fresh catalyst feed 110and heavy oil feedstock 104 are fed directly into the contacting zone140 in series as separate streams or a combined feed stream. In yetanother embodiment, optional hydrocarbon oil feedstock 105 such as VGO(vacuum gas oil) is also fed into next contacting zone 140. In oneembodiment (not shown), water and/or steam is also provided to thecontacting zone 140 as a separate feed stream, or introduced togetherwith the feed and slurry catalyst in the same conduit. Hydrogen 141 maybe introduced together with the feed in the same conduit, or optionally,as a separate feed stream. In yet another embodiment (not shown), atleast a portion or all of the hydrogen feed is mixed with the liquidstream 133 from the separation zone and fed into the reactor 140. Thequench hydrogen in one embodiment supplies the reaction hydrogen as mostof the hydrogen from the first contacting zone 120 left with the vaporstream 131.

Effluent stream 142 comprising upgraded materials along with slurrycatalyst, hydrogen gas, coke, unconverted heavy oil, etc., flows to thenext separation zone 150 in series for separation of gas and volatileliquids 151 from the non-volatile fractions 152. The gaseous andvolatile liquid fractions are withdrawn from the top of the separationzone, and combined with the gaseous and volatile liquid fractions from apreceding separation zone as stream 161 for further processing inhydrotreatment system 160 or a downstream product purification system.The non-volatile (or less volatile) fraction stream is withdrawn andsent away as residue stream 152 for deoiling/metal recovery. In yetanother embodiment (not shown), stream 161 is quenched with ahydrocarbon stream such as LGO in a lean oil contactor.

The hydrotreater 160 in one embodiment employs conventionalhydrotreating catalysts, is operated at a similarly high pressure(within 10 psig) as the rest of the upgrade system, and capable ofremoving sulfur, nitrogen and other impurities from the upgradedproducts with an HDN conversion level of >99.99%, lowering the sulfurlevel in fraction above 70° F. boiling point in stream 162 to less than20 ppm in one embodiment, and less than 10 ppm in a second embodiment.In another embodiment, the in-line hydrotreater operates at atemperature within 10° F. of the temperature of the contacting zones.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a once-through upgradeprocess with three contacting zones running in sequential mode, e.g.,reactors 120, 135, and 140, with each of the contacting zones having aseparation zone in series with optional by-pass. As shown, effluentstream 123 comprising upgraded material, spent slurry catalyst, andunconverted heavy oil feed, hydrogen, etc., withdrawn from the 1^(st)contacting zone 120 is sent to separation zone 130, or directly to thesecond contacting zone 135 in series for further upgrading.Alternatively (shown as dotted line), the effluent stream 123 may bypassthe separation zone 130 and go directly into the next contacting zone135 in series. Additional catalyst feed, heavy oil feedstock and otherhydrocarbon feedstock such as VGO can also be fed to the 2^(nd)contacting zone along with additional hydrogen feed 137. Effluent stream136 exits the contacting zone 135 and flows to separation zone 145,wherein gases (including hydrogen) and upgraded products in the form ofvolatile liquids are separated from the non-volatile liquid fraction 147and removed overhead as stream 146. The non-volatile stream 147 is sentto the next contacting zone 140 in series for further upgrade.

Non-volatile stream 147 contains slurry catalyst in combination withunconverted oil, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, optionalsacrificial material, and small amounts of coke and asphaltenes in someembodiments continues on to the next reactor 140 as shown. Additionalfeed stream(s) comprising hydrogen comprising gas, optional VGO feed,optional (additional) heavy oil feed, and optional catalyst feed can becombined with the non-volatile stream 147 for further upgrade reactionin the next reactor 140. Effluent stream 142 from the reactor comprisingupgraded heavy oil feedstock flows to separation zone 150, whereinupgraded products are combined with hydrogen and removed as overheadstream 151. Bottom stream comprising non-volatile fractions, e.g.,catalyst slurry, unconverted oil containing coke and asphaltenes,heavier hydrocracked liquid products, optional sacrificial material,etc., are removed as residue 152 for catalyst recovery/regenerationdownstream.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a once-through upgradeprocess as a parallel train with three contacting zones, e.g., reactors120, 135, and 140, and with optional by-pass so that one separation zonecan be used for all three reactors. In one embodiment, the system isoperated at a high through put rate with all three reactors operating inparallel with each reactor having its own heavy oil feed, catalyst feed,optional VGO feed, etc., with the effluents going to one same separator150 or individually to separate reactors, and the non-volatile fractionsfrom the separators are collected for further processing as residue 152.In one embodiment (not shown, or indicated by dotted lines), the systemoperates at a slower rate with at least two of the reactors operating inseries, with the non-volatile fraction from the separator being sent tothe next reactor in series. In one embodiment, the effluent streamwithdrawn from the reactor can be sent to the separator located inseries after each reactor, e.g., streams 123 flowing to separator 130,stream 136 to separator 145, and stream 142 to separator 150, and thenon-volatile streams from any of the separation zone can be removed/sentaway to residue tank 152 for catalyst recovery/regeneration downstream.

In one embodiment (as shown as dotted lines) with all reactors sharing aseparator, all the effluent streams are sent to separator 150, whereinthe overhead stream is withdrawn as stream 151 and sent to a leancontactor or a downstream process 160.

Flexible Operation: A once-through upgrade process as illustrated inFIG. 3 with a plurality of contacting zones and separation zonesconstructed in a permutable fashion so as to provide a flexibleoperation, accommodating different modes of operation. Although notshown in FIG. 3, appropriate valves can be installed in the processpipes to open/close accordingly, allowing the once-through processsystem to switch from one operation mode to another.

The different modes include but are not limited to the followings andcombinations thereof: a) an operation with one reactor to two, or three(or more) reactors; b) an operation at low through-put rate but a highconversion rate with the plurality of reactors operating in a sequentialfashion, i.e., operating in series, with the effluent from one reactoror the bottom liquid stream from a separator being sent to the nextreactor in series for further conversion; c) an operation at a highthrough-put rate with at least some of the reactors running in tandem(parallel) and heavy oil feedstock to each of the reactors, and some ofthe reactor(s) being on stand-by or off-line mode; d) a mixed operationmode with one reactor running in tandem (parallel) with the otherplurality of reactors running in series; e) an operation with thereactors running in tandem (parallel) with the effluent stream from eachreactor being sent to a separator in series with the reactor(s); and f)an operation with the reactors running in tandem (parallel), and withthe effluent stream(s) from the reactors being combined and sent to oneor two separators for separation and recovery of the upgraded products.

Although not described here, there can be other permutations of theabove operating modes, such as a combined mode wherein the effluent fromone reactor or the bottom liquid stream from a separator being splitinto multiple feed streams to two or more reactors in series.Additionally, as the system is set up as a flexible operation, any ofthe reactor can be operated as a primary or only reactor, a firstreactor (or a second reactor, a third reactor, etc.) in a processrunning in a sequential fashion (or a mixed sequential/tandem model),and any of the separation zone can be operated as a primary or onlyseparator, a first (second, or third, etc.) separation zone or the onlyseparation zone in continuous process.

In one embodiment, the process allows a flexible operation withdifferent types of heavy oil feeds, catalyst types, etc., with thereactors running in parallel with their own feed system. The flexibilityof running in parallel and or series also allows one reactor to be shutdown for clean up, removal of deposits, etc., while the remainder of thesystem operational. This means that the overall operation processefficiency is increased with minimum overall system downtime.

In one embodiment, the process allows a flexible conversion from oneoperating mode to another, without the need for unit shut-down andre-start. In one embodiment where only some of the contacting zones arekept in operation such as single reactor runs, the other reactor(s) aremaintained in hot stand-by mode, i.e., at an elevated pressure andtemperature as in the reactor(s) in operation. In one embodiment,pressure and temperature are maintained in the equipment on standby withhot hydrogen being circulated through the reactor or reactors not inoperation and kept on stand-by.

In one embodiment, a sufficient amount of heated hydrogen containing gasfeed is supplied to each of the stand-by reactors for the reactors to beat approximately the same temperature and pressure as the reactors inoperation. As used herein, approximately the same (or similar to)temperature means that the temperature of the stand-by reactor is within50° F. of the temperature of the reactors being in operation, and thepressure of the reactor on stand-by is within 100 psi of the pressure ofthe reactors in operation.

In one embodiment, the sufficient amount of hydrogen ranges from 10 to100% of the hydrogen supplied to the reactor(s) in operation. In anotherembodiment, this sufficient amount of hydrogen ranges from 10 to 30%. Ina fourth embodiment, the sufficient amount of hydrogen ranges from 15 to25% of the total amount of hydrogen supplied to the reactors still inoperation. The hot hydrogen stream exits the stand-by reactor orreactors and enters the separation zones, wherein it subsequentlycombines with the overhead stream and sent to a lean contactor or adownstream process for product purification.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a flexible once-through upgradeprocess (a variation of FIG. 3), wherein only two of the reactors 120and 135 in the system are engaged for heavy oil upgrade, and the thirdreactor system 140 is put on stand-by or back up mode with H₂ feed only,or it can be used for the upgrade of heavy oil as shown (employing adifferent catalyst and/or heavy oil feedstock). The third reactor 140system can also be shut-down for maintenance while the other two arekept on-line.

As shown, reactors 120 and 135 are run in series, with the bottomsliquid stream 133 from the high pressure high temperature (HPHT)separator 130 is sent to reactor 135 for further upgrade. Volatileproduct streams from the overhead HPHT separators are combined with hothydrogen 151 from the stand-by unit (or overhead stream with upgradedproducts if reactor 140 is in operation) and sent to a lean contactor ora downstream purification process. Bottoms stream comprising unconvertedheavy oil, spent catalyst slurry, asphaltenes, etc. from the separator,e.g., 147 is collected as residue 152 and sent to a downstream processfor deoiling and/or metal recovery in a metal recovery unit.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the flexible once-throughupgrade system (variation of FIG. 3), wherein all units are engaged forheavy-oil upgrade to maximize through-put, running in parallel withheavy oil feed 104, slurry catalyst feed 110, optional steam injectionto some of the reactors, optional additive materials such as anti-foaminjection and/or sacrificial materials to some of the reactors, andoptional VGO feed to some of the reactors running in tandem. Althoughnot shown, it is noted that the effluents from any or all of thereactors can be directed to one single HPHT separator instead of runningthrough a separator connected in series to the reactor, e.g., effluentstreams 123 and 136 from reactors 120 and 140 respectively can becombined with the effluent stream 142 from the last reactor in thetrain, reactor 140, as feed to the HPHT separator 150. If the reactorsare running as separate units with their own respective HPHT separator,the bottom streams comprising unconverted heavy oil, spent catalyst,e.g., 133, 147, can be collected into one residue stream 152 and sent toa downstream process for deoiling and/or metal recovery in a metalrecovery unit.

The residue stream 152 contains small amounts of coke and asphaltenes,optional sacrificial material if any, and spent slurry catalyst in anamount of 5 to 30 wt. % in unconverted oil. Volatile product streamsfrom the overhead HPHT separators are combined and sent to a leancontactor or a downstream product purification process.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a once-through upgradeprocess with three contacting zones running in tandem (parallel) andsharing one separation zone. As shown, each reactors 120, 135, and 140run in tandem with their own separate heavy oil, catalyst, optional VGO,optional steam injection (not shown), and optional additive feeds (notshown). The effluent streams 123, 136, and 142 from the reactors arecombined and sent to one single separation zone 150 for the upgradedproducts to be separated from the residue stream comprising spent slurrycatalyst, heavier hydrocarbons, and unconverted heavy oil feed. As thereactors operate in tandem as separate upgrade reactors, the heavy oilfeedstock as well as the catalyst feed can be the same or differentacross the reactors.

FIG. 7 is another permutation of the flexible upgrade system, whereinthe first two reactors 120 and 135 run in sequential mode. Although notshown, additional heavy oil feed as well as catalyst, optionaladditives, VGO feed, etc. can also be added to the second reactor 135along with the effluent stream 123 from the first reactor. The lastreactor can be kept on stand-by mode with hot H₂ flowing through thereactor, or it can also be used for heavy oil upgrade as shown, with thelast reactor 140 running in tandem with the sequential operation(reactors 120 and 135). The heavy oil feedstock, catalyst feed, and VGOfeed to the last reactor 140 can be the same or different from the feedsto the sequential operation. As shown, effluent streams 136 and 142 fromboth operations are combined and sent to separation zone 150.

Although not shown in all of the Figures, the once-through upgradesystem may comprise recirculating/recycling channels and pumps (notshown) for promoting the dispersion of reactants, catalyst, and heavyoil feedstock in the contacting zones, particularly with a highrecirculation flow rate to the first contacting zone to induce turbulentmixing in the reactor, thus reducing heavy metal deposits. In oneembodiment, a recirculating pump circulates through the loop reactor,thus maintaining a temperature difference between the reactor feed pointto the exit point ranging from 1 to 50° F., or between 2-25° F. Inanother embodiment, the recirculation is to limit the temperaturedifference across the contacting zone(s) due to exothermic reactions andensure good contacting of the hydrogen and the reactants.

In the contacting zones under hydrocracking conditions, at least aportion of the heavy oil feedstock (higher boiling point hydrocarbons)is converted to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming an upgraded product.It should be noted that at least a portion of the slurry catalystremains with the upgraded feedstock as spent slurry catalyst, as theupgraded materials is withdrawn from the contacting zone and fed intothe separation zone, and the spent slurry catalyst continues to beavailable in the separation zone and exits the separation zone with thenon-volatile liquid fraction.

The following examples are given as non-limitative illustration ofaspects of the present invention.

Examples

Heavy oil upgrade experiments were carried out in a system having threegas-liquid slurry phase reactors connected in series with two hotseparators, each being connected in series with the 2^(nd) and 3^(rd)reactors respectively.

For all examples, a fresh slurry catalyst was prepared according to theteaching of US Patent No. 2006/0058174, e.g., a Mo compound was firstmixed with aqueous ammonia forming an aqueous Mo compound mixture,sulfided with a sulfur-containing compound, promoted with a Ni compound,then transformed in a hydrocarbon oil, e.g., VGO, at a temperature of atleast 350° F. and a pressure of at least 200 psig, forming an activeslurry catalyst to send to the first reactor. The Mo concentration inVGO is 5% and the Ni/Mo ratio is 10% wt.

The heavy oil feedstock in the examples has properties as indicated inTable 1.

Feed Description VR-1 VR-H VR-2 Feed API 2.5 1.35 2.70 Feed SpecificGravity 1.06 1.07 1.06 Viscosity (100 C.), cst 14548 — — Viscosity (130C.), cst 1547 51847 8710 Viscosity (150 C.), cst NA 5647 2102 FeedSulfur, wt % 5.53 4.3675 5.12 Feed Nitrogen, ppm 5688 9907 7900 FeedMCR, wt % 25.4 27.9 29.9 Feed Vanadium, ppm 517.7 759.8 671.6 FeedNickel, ppm 102.2 174.3 141.9 Hot Heptane Asphaltenes, wt % 16.3 19.225.7 Feed VR (1000 F.+) Content, wt % 86.4 95.5 95.7 Feed HVGO (800 F.+)Content, 97.8 98.9 100 wt % Feed VGO (650 F.+) Content, 99.6 100 100 wt% Feed C, wt % 83.71 84.30 83.24 Feed H, wt % 9.88 9.75 9.53 H/C Ratio0.118 0.116 0.114

The upgrade system was operated under two modes: recycle andonce-through. In the recycle mode as in the prior art, a portion of thenon-volatile stream (STB or “stripper bottoms” product) from the lastreactor was recycled back to the 1^(st) reactor and a portion is removedas a bleed stream. The STB stream amounts to about 30% of heavy oilfeedstock to the system. The bleed stream amounts to about 15 wt. % ofthe heavy oil feedstock to the system. The STB stream contains about 10to 15 wt. % slurry catalyst.

In all runs, effluent taken from the 1^(st) reactor was sent to the2^(nd) reactor to continue with the upgrade reaction. Effluent streamsfrom the 2^(nd) and 3^(rd) reactors were sent to the separatorsconnected in series to the 2^(nd) and 3^(rd) reactor respectively, andseparated into a hot vapor stream and a non-volatile stream. Vaporstreams (“HPO” or high-pressure overhead streams) were removed from thetop of the high pressure separators and collected for further analysis.The non-volatile stream comprising slurry catalyst and unconverted heavyoil feedstock from the 1^(st) separator was sent to the 3rd reactor. Thenon-volatile stream comprising slurry catalyst and unconverted heavy oilfeedstock from the 2^(nd) (last) separator is the STB stream, which waseither recycled to the 1^(st) reactor (for “recycle” experiments) orsent away as a residue stream (for “once-through” experiments).

The hydroprocessing conditions were as follows: reactor temperature (inthree reactors) in the range of 805-820° F., with the average reactortemperature as indicated in the Tables; a total pressure in the range of2400 to 2600 psig; LHSV is as indicated in the table, ranging from 0.1to 0.30h⁻¹; and H₂ gas rate (SCF/bbl) of 7500 to 20000. For some of theruns, some of the reactors were taken off-line to increase the overallfeed throughput (as indicated in the Tables with the number of reactorsin operation).

As shown in Table 3 and at comparable LHSV, Example 8 in theonce-through mode and at a low catalyst concentration (2500 ppm Mo/VR)gives a conversion rate that is comparable to the conversion rateobtained in Example Comp. 3, for an upgrade process operating in arecycle mode and a much higher catalyst concentration (4200 ppm). HVGOand VGO conversions were 93% and 78% respectively, along with high HDS,HDN, HD MCR and HDM conversions. The whole product API gravity gainednearly 31 degrees, similar to the recycle operation. The experimentsindicated that the recycle stream could be removed without affecting theoverall performance, and decreasing? increasing the catalyst level(2500?4200 ppm) did not significantly change the performance.

Attempts to run the upgrade system in a recycle mode and comparable(low) catalyst concentration of 2500 ppm Mo/VR were unsuccessful inComparative Example 4, as the system never stabilized and with equipmentissues due to the low conversion rate in the recycle mode (cokeformation and solid depositions in the reactor).

Results from Example 1, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2were evaluated to compare the conversion rate at different through putrates and a high catalyst rate (2. 1% Mo). The vacuum resid (VR)conversion rate decreased as expected at higher through put rates, butwas still with a conversion rate of >70% (71.74%). Additionally, morethan 95% of the V and Ni in the feed were removed from the products andthe whole product API gravity gained about 17 degrees compared to the VRfeed.

Examples 2-7 were to evaluate the once-through upgrade system at variousthrough put rates and low catalyst concentration (1500-2500 ppm). Asshown in Example 2, >75% VR conversion was realized at 0.3 VR LHSV and4200 ppm Mo. The HVGO and VGO conversion rates were 62% and 50%respectively, indicating that most of the VR have been converted tolight hydrocarbon/oils. When the catalyst level was reduced to 2500 ppm(Example 3) or 1500 ppm (Example 4), VR conversion increased slightlydue to the slight decrease in the overall LHSV. When the reactortemperature was increased from 818-819° F. to 825° F., the VR conversionrate increased to 79% with a low catalyst level of 2500 ppm Mo, which isa 40% reduction in catalyst usage compared to the usage in the recyclemode (Comparable Example 3). As shown in Examples 6-7, 92-94% VRconversion was obtained at 2500 ppm Mo with a whole product API gain ofmore than 26 degrees.

As noted, at a low catalyst to oil ratio (1500-4200 ppm) in once-throughmode, at least 75% VR (1000° F.) conversion (75-79%) is obtained at ahigh VR throughput (0.3 LHSV) and at a high reactor temperature of818-825° F. The VR conversion rate increased to 92-94% at 0. 15 LHSV andat an almost full conversion rate of >98% at 0.1 LHSV and a high reactortemperature of 818-825° F. Also as noted, catalyst concentration in thereactors increased from one reactor to the next (in series), whether theupgrade system operated in either recycle mode or once-through mode.

Comparative Example 10

It is expected that running the upgrade system in the once-through modewith a very low catalyst concentration (250 ppm Mo/VR) would beunsuccessful, as the system would not stabilize with plugging problems,presumably with a low conversion rate due to the low catalystconcentration.

Example 13

In this example, a sacrificial material was employed to test theabsorbance of asphaltenes and other deposits in the upgrade system. Amaterial with a high capacity to selectively adsorb troublesomeasphaltenes was employed. The material adsorbed asphaltenes thuspreventing the asphaltenes from deactivating the catalyst, allowing thesystem to run with less catalyst while still maintaining a highconversion.

In Example 13 (see table 4), two different sacrificial adsorbentmaterials were evaluated. C-2 is a commercial carbon black material fromSTREM Chemicals having an average size of 2-12 microns. C-1 is a carbonblack obtained by the coking of spent slurry catalyst in heavy oilresidual obtained from a previous upgrade run, having a D-90 of 10microns (with particle size ranging from 2 to 12 microns), and BETsurface area of 400 m²/g. The carbonaceous material was charged at 3000ppm Carbon/VR wt/wt in a batch reaction experiment with 112.5 g of ablend of heavy oil VR-1/cycle oil (3:2 ratio), and a catalyst level of1.25% Mo to VR-1 heavy oil feed. The reaction was carried out at apressure of 1600 psig hydrogen and with 2 or 5 hour soak at 825° F. Theruns with the carbonaceous material were compared to batch reactionexperiments without the sacrificial adsorbent. Table 4 summarizes thecatalytic performance.

TABLE 4 Example 13 Soak % Conversion at. dry Run type (hr) HDN HDS HDMCRVR H/C solids Comparable - no 2 33.9 78.1 64.7 88.0 1.33 2.70 C mat. C-2material 2 38.4 77.6 63.8 83.6 1.33 2.60 C-1 material 2 38.8 77.2 64.374.6 1.32 2.50 Comparable - no 5 45.8 85.7 77.7 96.1 1.29 2.10 C mat.C-2 material 5 52.9 86.3 75.7 94.6 1.35 2.60 C-1 material 5 50.0 85.476.7 94.3 1.30 2.30

HDN means hydrodenitrogenation; HDS means hydrodesulfurization; HDMCRmeans hydrodemicrocarbon residue; VR means vacuum residue; at. H/C meansatomic hydrogen to carbon ratio; and dry solids values were measuredaccording to methods known in the art. HDN is a common measure forhydrogenation activity of a catalyst. As shown, runs employingcarbonaceous sacrificial material showed a consistent increase in HDNactivity at both 2 and 5 hour soak times compared to the control withoutthe carbon.

For the purpose of this specification and appended claims, unlessotherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, percentages orproportions, and other numerical values used in the specification andclaims, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by theterm “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, thenumerical parameters set forth in the following specification andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained and/or the precision of aninstrument for measuring the value, thus including the standarddeviation of error for the device or method being employed to determinethe value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean“and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only orthe alternative are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supportsa definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” The use ofthe word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising”in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is alsoconsistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “oneor more than one.” Furthermore, all ranges disclosed herein areinclusive of the endpoints and are independently combinable. In general,unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in the plural andvice versa with no loss of generality. As used herein, the term“include” and its grammatical variants are intended to be non-limiting,such that recitation of items in a list is not to the exclusion of otherlike items that can be substituted or added to the listed items.

It is contemplated that any aspect of the invention discussed in thecontext of one embodiment of the invention may be implemented or appliedwith respect to any other embodiment of the invention. Likewise, anycomposition of the invention may be the result or may be used in anymethod or process of the invention. This written description usesexamples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also toenable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Thepatentable scope is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples areintended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structuralelements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, orif they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantialdifferences from the literal languages of the claims. All citationsreferred herein are expressly incorporated incorporated herein byreference.

TABLE 2 Ex. 1 Comp. 1 Comp. 2 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 11Ex. 12 Feed ID VR-1 VR-1 VR-1 VR-H VR-H VR-H VR-H VR-H VR-H VR-2 VR-2Operation mode Once- Once- Once- Once- Once- Once- Once- Once- Once-Once- Once- Thru Thru Thru thru thru thru thru thru thru thru thru # ofreactors 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 VR LHSV, h⁻¹ 0.201 0.101 0.065 0.30 0.300.30 0.30 0.15 0.15 0.09 0.09 Overall (VR + 0.294 0.148 0.096 0.3290.317 0.312 0.317 0.158 0.157 0.096 0.106 VGO in catalyst) LHSV, h⁻¹Total H₂ 10782 10503 10914 2506 2512 2510 2502 2510 2508 2506 2506 rateto reactors in service, scf/bbl-VR Unit pressure 2482 2488 2480 45004500 4500 4500 9000 6000 13500 13500 (psig) Average 805 807 810 819 818819 825 819 819 816.3 817.3 temperature of reactors in service, F.Actual Cat 21192 21087 21782 4200 2500 1500 2500 2500 2500 3000 3000(Mo) to Oil (VR) Ratio (ppm) VR feed API 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.351.35 1.35 2.70 2.70 HPO API 41.8 43.8 44.3 7.6 6.4 5.5 7.0 4.6 5.3 2.21.7 STB API 15.8 21.1 26.9 43.2 42.0 42.9 44.3 37.4 40.1 36.1 35.9 Wholeproduct 19.5 26.1 34.1 19.5 18.5 18.7 20.4 27.7 27.7 32.1 31.4 APISulfur 72.88 91.59 99.28 65.99 64.97 63.48 67.52 85.89 84.31 91.42 90.12conversion, % Nitrogen 26.08 56.33 91.43 21.90 21.02 20.84 25.56 42.5941.66 59.77 60.01 conversion, % MCR 62.17 85.10 98.87 56.53 56.41 55.3458.16 82.46 78.55 94.54 93.11 conversion, % 1000 F.+ 71.74 89.39 99.0075.51 76.17 77.61 78.58 93.57 91.87 98.01 97.50 conversion, % 800 F.+48.97 72.03 89.13 62.16 63.42 64.49 66.47 84.34 82.38 90.94 90.41conversion, % 650 F.+ 31.94 52.54 74.42 49.51 51.30 51.99 53.90 69.3868.83 75.14 74.34 conversion, % HD-vanadium, % 95.48 99.84 100.00 86.4085.18 83.66 87.31 98.49 97.69 — — HD-nickel, % 98.50 99.89 100.00 75.2871.93 68.82 74.15 92.13 89.81 — —

TABLE 3 Comp. Ex. 8 Ex 9 Ex 10 10 Comp. 3 Comp. 4 Feed Type VR-H VR-HVR-H VR-H VR-H VR-H Operation mode Once- Once- Once- Once- RecycleRecycle thru thru thru thru Number of reactors in service 3 3 3 3 3 3 VRLHSV, h⁻¹ 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 Overall (VR + VGO in catalyst)0.105 0.107 0.109 0.109 0.109 0.109 LHSV, h⁻¹ Unit Pressure, psig 25022505 2497 2497 2505 2505 Total H₂ Rate - scf/bbl-VR 13500 13500 1350013500 13500 13500 Average temperature of the 818.7 818.7 819.3 819.3 819819 reactors in service, F. Mo/VR ratio, ppm 2500 3000 4200 250 42002500 VR Feed API 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 STB API 0.8 2.3 3.3 — 3.9— HPO API 36.2 36.3 36.1 — 35.9 — Whole product API 32.2 32.2 32.2 —32.3 — Sulfur Conversion, % 91.71 91.12 92.83 — 92.81 — NitrogenConversion, % 55.96 59.94 61.11 — 58.90 — MCR Conversion, % 94.18 94.4794.77 — 94.36 — VR (1000 F.+) Conversion, % 98.34 98.37 98.37 — 98.18 —HVGO (800 F.+) Conversion, % 92.85 92.54 92.74 — 92.11 — VGO (650 F.+)Conversion, % 78.28 78.07 78.15 — 77.61 — HD-vanadium, % 99.79 99.8399.86 — 99.83 — HD-Nickel, % 97.54 97.55 97.66 — 97.88 — Moconcentration in 1^(st) reactor, 4050 na na — 16500 — ppm^(a) Moconcentration in 2^(nd) reactor, 11500 na na — 26600 — ppm^(a) Moconcentration in 3^(rd) reactor, 51900 66900 93500 — 44500 — ppm^(a) Moconcentration in STB product 17700 21700 30900 — 32500 — (OUT), ppm

1. A process for hydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the processemploying a plurality of contacting zones and at least one separationzones, the process comprising: providing a hydrogen containing gas feed;providing a heavy oil feedstock; providing a slurry catalyst feedcomprising an active metal catalyst having an average particle size ofat least 1 micron in a hydrocarbon oil diluent; combining at least aportion of the hydrogen containing gas feed, at least a portion of theheavy oil feedstock, at least a portion of the additive material, and atleast a portion of the slurry catalyst feed in a first contacting zoneunder hydrocracking conditions, operating at a first pressure, toconvert at least a portion of the first heavy oil feedstock to lowerboiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products, the first contactingzone has an exit pressure of X; sending a first effluent stream from thefirst contacting zone to a first separation zone having an entrypressure of Y, wherein volatile upgraded products are removed with thehydrogen containing gas as a first overhead stream, and the slurrycatalyst and unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed as a firstnon-volatile stream, wherein the first non-volatile stream contains lessthan 30% solid, wherein the first separating zone has an entry pressureof Y; recovering the first overhead stream; and recovering the firstnon-volatile stream; wherein there is a pressure drop Z between the exitpressure X of the first contacting zone and the entry pressure Y of thefirst separation zone, and Z is less than 100 psi.
 2. The process ofclaim 1, wherein the pressure drop Z is less than 75 psi.
 3. The processof claim 1, wherein the pressure drop Z is less than 50 psi.
 4. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the pressure drop Z is not due to a pressurereducing device.
 5. The process of claim 1, wherein the pressure drop Zis due to at least one of friction loss, wall drag, volume increase, andpiping components.
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the firstcontacting zone and the first separating zone are in direct fluidcommunication.
 7. The process of claim 1, wherein the active catalysthas an average particle size ranging from 1 to 20 microns.
 8. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the slurry catalyst comprises clusters ofcolloidal sized particles of less than 100 nm in size.
 9. The process ofclaim 1, wherein the slurry catalyst comprises an active metal catalystat a concentration of greater than 1000 wppm of active metal catalyst toheavy oil feedstock.
 10. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurrycatalyst comprises an active metal catalyst at a concentration of 1000wppm to 3 wt. % of active metal catalyst to heavy oil feedstock.
 11. Theprocess of claim 10, wherein the slurry catalyst comprises an activemetal catalyst at a concentration of at least 1200 wppm of active metalcatalyst to heavy oil feedstock.
 12. The process of claim 1, furthercomprising: adding an amount of water of up to 30 wt % of the firstheavy oil feedstock to the first contacting zone.
 13. The process ofclaim 1, further comprising: adding an additional hydrocarbon oil feedother than the heavy oil feedstock, in an amount ranging from 2 to 30wt. % of the heavy oil feedstock, to the first contacting zone.
 14. Theprocess of claim 13, wherein the additional hydrocarbon oil feed isselected from vacuum gas oil, naphtha, medium cycle oil, light cycleoil, heavy cycle oil, solvent donor, and aromatic solvents.
 15. Theprocess of claim 1, for treating a heavy oil feedstock having a TAN ofat least 0.1; a viscosity of at least 10 cSt; an API gravity at most 15;at least 0.0001 grams of Ni/V/Fe; at least 0.005 grams of heteroatoms;at least 0.01 grams of residue; at least 0.04 grams C5 asphaltenes; andat least 0.002 grams of MCR per gram of heavy oil feedstock.
 16. Theprocess of claim 1, further comprising providing at least an additivematerial selected from inhibitor additives, anti-foam agents,stabilizers, metal scavengers, metal contaminant removers, metalpassivators, and sacrificial materials, in an amount of less than 1 wt.% of the heavy oil feedstock to the first contacting zone.
 17. Theprocess of claim 16, wherein the additive material is a sacrificialmaterial for trapping metals in the heavy oil feed and coke, having aBET surface area of at least 1 m²/g and a total pore volume of at least0.005 cm³/g.
 18. The process of claim 1, wherein each of the contactingzones in the process is operated at a liquid hourly space velocity(LHSV) ranging from 0.075 h⁻¹ to about 2 h⁻¹.
 18. The process of claim1, wherein each of the contacting zones in the process is operated at aliquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) ranging from
 0. 1 h.⁻¹ to about 1.5h⁻¹.
 19. The process of claim 1, wherein the additive material is ananti-foam agent selected from the group of silicone compounds.
 20. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contacting zones areconfigured in a permutable fashion for the plurality of contacting zonesand separation zones to operate in: a sequential mode; a parallel mode;a combination of parallel and sequential mode; all online; some onlineand some on stand-by; some online and some off-line; a parallel modewith the effluent stream from the contacting zone being sent to at leasta separation zone in series with the contacting zone; a parallel modewith the effluent stream from the contacting zone being combined with aneffluent stream from at least another contacting zone and sent to theseparation zone; and combinations thereof.
 21. The process of claim 1,wherein the plurality of contacting zones operate in a parallel mode,and further comprising: providing to a second contacting zone, alsooperated under hydrocracking conditions, at least a portion of hydrogencontaining gas feed, at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock, andat least a portion of the slurry catalyst feed; combining the at least aportion of hydrogen containing gas feed, the at least a portion of heavyoil feedstock, and the at least a portion of slurry catalyst in thesecond contacting zone to convert at least the at least a portion of theheavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additionalupgraded products; sending a second effluent stream from the secondcontacting zone containing the additional upgraded products, the slurrycatalyst, the hydrogen containing gas, and unconverted heavy oilfeedstock to a second separation zone, wherein additional volatileupgraded products are removed with the hydrogen containing gas as asecond overhead stream, and the slurry catalyst and unconverted heavyoil feedstock are removed in a second non-volatile stream containingless than 30% solid; collecting the second overhead stream for furtherprocessing in a product purification unit; and collecting the secondnon-volatile stream for further processing including slurry catalystseparation and recovery.
 22. The process of claim 1, wherein theplurality of contacting zones operate in a parallel mode, and furthercomprising: providing to a second contacting zone, also operated underhydrocracking conditions, at least a portion of hydrogen containing gasfeed, at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock, and at least aportion of the slurry catalyst feed; combining the at least a portion ofhydrogen containing gas feed, at least a portion of the heavy oilfeedstock, and at least a portion of the slurry catalyst feed in thesecond contacting zone to convert at least a portion of the heavy oilfeedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additional upgradedproducts; sending a second effluent stream from the second contactingzone comprising the additional upgraded products, the slurry catalyst,the hydrogen containing gas, and unconverted heavy oil feedstock to thefirst separation zone along with the first effluent stream, wherein thefirst overhead stream and the first non-volatile stream are separatedand removed for further processing.
 23. The process of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of contacting zones operate in sequential mode, andfurther comprising, prior to sending the first effluent stream to thefirst separation zone: sending the first effluent stream from the firstcontacting zone to a second contacting zone which is also maintainedunder hydrocracking conditions with additional hydrogen containing gasfeed to convert at least a portion of the unconverted heavy oilfeedstock in the effluent stream to lower boiling hydrocarbons, formingadditional upgraded products; and collecting a mixture of the upgradedproducts, the slurry catalyst, the hydrogen containing gas, andunconverted heavy oil feedstock from the second contacting zone as afeed into the first separation zone.
 24. The process of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of contacting zones operate in sequential mode, andfurther comprising: sending the first non-volatile stream from the firstseparation zone to a second contacting zone which is also maintainedunder hydrocracking conditions with additional hydrogen containing gasfeed to convert at least a portion of the unconverted heavy oilfeedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additional upgradedproducts; sending a mixture comprising the additional upgraded products,the slurry catalyst, the additional hydrogen containing gas, andunconverted heavy oil feedstock to a second separation zone, wherebyvolatile additional upgraded products are removed with the additionalhydrogen containing gas as an overhead stream, and the slurry catalystand unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed as a second non-volatilestream.